


when all seemed lost (i found a truth)

by dryadfiona



Category: Tomb Raider & Related Fandoms, Tomb Raider (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Pining, Unrequited Love, any non-lesbians who make dumbass lesbian jokes stay out of my comments, lara's like. a little dumb, lesbians feel free to just go feral
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2020-02-29 10:05:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18776077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dryadfiona/pseuds/dryadfiona
Summary: Lara has been in love with Sam for years.





	when all seemed lost (i found a truth)

Lara has been in love with Sam for years.

It wasn't love at first sight, Lara doesn't believe in that, but it seems like she's been in love with her almost as long as she's known her. The past few days have been hell, not knowing where Sam was, knowing Sam was in danger, fighting her way up a mountain of monsters and Stormguard to get her back in her arms again.

She's bridal carrying her down the mountain now, back towards the ship, and Sam says, "Lara?"

"Sam?"

"You look like you got hit by a semi-truck."

Lara laughs before seeing Sam's face, the genuine concern on it, and her heart completely melts. Sam has a way of doing that to her.

"I'm...well, not fine," Lara admits. "But I'll live until we get back to civilization."

Sam nods, shifting a bit so she's more comfortable in Lara's arms.

When they finally meet up with Jonah and Reyes again, the relief on their faces almost knocks Lara down.

"Glad to see you're alright, Sam," Jonah says. "Little bird, I knew you'd get her back."

Sam moves, trying to get down, and Lara lets her down as gently as possible. The second she's on the ground, she runs to hug Jonah.

_Oh._

Lara can't ignore the stab of disappointment, but Sam is  _here_ and  _alive_ and  _mostly okay,_ so as much as it hurts for her to watch the girl she's loved this long care about someone else like that, she's just happy to see her again at all.

"Lara," Reyes says.

"Reyes," Lara says.

Neither of them want to start a fight, clearly, too anxious to get off the island, but it's far from the happy reunion between Sam and Jonah. Jonah ruffles Lara's hair as he passes her on the way to the ship they salvaged, and Lara can't find it in herself to be upset with him either. She likes Jonah. Not like that, naturally, she's known she was a lesbian since she was a kid, but she thinks of him as a brother, after the days they've had. 

 _This would be easier to deal with if I could hate you,_ Lara thinks, following the rest of them to the ship.

The sea is terrifying to be on after the shipwreck, but knowing there won't be anymore storms eases Lara's anxiety, as does staying leaned against one of the walls. Sam and Jonah are talking about things completely unrelated to the island. Reyes is silent, staring back at Yamatai.

"I miss him too, Reyes," Lara starts.

"Don't," Reyes says. "I don't want to talk about this with you."

Lara didn't really want to talk about Roth either, but the silence is almost worse. She keeps hearing Sam screaming while Mathias laughs. To do anything to occupy her mind, she eats one of the few rations they'd managed to salvage. It isn't until she has that she realizes how hungry she was--she doesn't think she's eaten since the first deer she'd killed. Once she's eaten, though, the adrenaline she's been running on stops working, and she yawns.

Sam yawns a few seconds after, and says, "Rude! You know yawning's contagious."

"I think you're just tired," Jonah says, yawning as well. "Both of you should get some sleep."

They don't have many bedrolls, and there's no way to turn down Sam's offer to share one so that Reyes and Jonah can each have one to themselves without making everything  _obvious._ She says yes, reluctantly, and pretends that Sam's back pressed against her own isn't affecting her.

Lara's bone-tired, but she doesn't get to sleep for hours.

-

When she wakes up, she's alone in the bedroll, and she can smell food cooking. Her stomach grumbles despite herself, and she makes her way towards the other end of the boat.

Jonah's cooking some fish that Lara thinks are fresh-caught--hunting's more her area of expertise than fishing--and Sam's helping him, cleaning the fish with what seems an equal mix of fascination and disgust. Lara's heart drops a bit, but she keeps going towards her friends.

"Anything I can help with?" She thinks she sounds normal. Reyes, already eating a little bit away, gives her a weird look, so probably not.

"Nope!" Sam says cheerfully. Lara knows Sam well enough to know when she's trying to sound as happy as possible in order to hide whatever she's really feeling, but prying would be a bad idea until they can talk alone, so she lets it lie. "We have some food for you, though, here."

Sam hands Lara a plate of fish, and it looks as delicious as everything else Jonah makes.

"Thank you, Sam. Thanks, Jonah." Lara smiles at him, and he smiles at her, and for a second, Lara almost forgets that Sam likes him.

When she remembers, Lara decides she's going to eat on the other side of the ship.

She eats in silence for a little bit before she hears someone approaching her. Deciding to ignore them until they talk to her, she keeps eating.

"Little bird," Jonah starts. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Lara says, too quickly, completely unconvincing.

"You can tell me, Lara," Jonah says. "Really. I won't tell anyone."

Lara laughs, knowing that whatever she tells him really will stay between them, as long as Reyes or Sam isn't close enough. The waves mask noise the smallest bit.

"I--" Lara starts. "I just hope that you and Sam are happy together."

"...what?"

"You and Sam?" Lara says. "You don't need to lie to protect my feelings, Jonah."

"Lara," Jonah says, and the laughter in his voice is impossible to ignore. "I think you may have the wrong idea."

"What do you mean?"

"Sam and I are close, yes, but it's not like that," Jonah says. He seems genuinely surprised by the insinuation, and Lara's spirit rises.

"Oh! Oh, I thought--"

"You should tell her how you feel," Jonah says. Lara immediately shuts up. "I think she feels the same."

Lara looks towards the other side of the ship and sees Sam, laughing at something Reyes said, and asks, "Do you really think so?"

"You've got it bad, huh?"

"Shut up," Lara says affectionately.


End file.
